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Second phase of Aadhaar enrolment to start next month

P M Raghunandan Bangalore:Nov 26, 2012 DH News Service

Four private companies issued work contract

The much-delayed second phase of enrolment for Unique Identity (UID) number (Aadhaar) is likely to commence in Karnataka from the first week of December. A simplified procedure for enrolment will be put to use during the second phase.

The State e-governance department, the nodal agency for enrolling people under the UID project, has already completed the process of appointing private agencies for the enrolment drive.

Four firms – Origin, Nine Stars Information Technologies Ltd, Mars Informatics Inc and Sreevan Infocom – have bagged the contract and they are most likely to commence the work from December 5, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for e-Governance, Dr D S Ravindran said. The enrolment process will first begin in Bangalore and by third week of December, it will be launched in all 23 districts coming under Aadhaar project in the State.

In the remaining seven districts - Udupi, Davangere, Haveri, Gadag, Uttara Kannada, Chikkaballapur and Yadgir - the National Population Registrar (NPR) will conduct the enrolment, he said.

The Aadhaar enrolment was suspended in February 2012 following concerns raised over its security features.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance had rejected the biometric data-based identification (UID is based on biometric data).

The committee had criticised the UID as a “directionless project” and recommended the government to re-consider it.

As a result, the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) had directed the State e-governance department to terminate the contract with the enrolment agencies. In the first phase, which was launched in August 2011, about 1.40 crore people had enrolled in the State, mostly in Mysore, Tumkur and Dharwad districts. Under the new contract, the companies will be charging a lower price.

They will charge Rs 28 per enrolment, against the earlier Rs 37. The department plans to complete the enrolment process by July 2013, Dr Ravindran said.

The department has decided to accept certain documents of entitlement issued either by the State or the Union government as a proof of identity for Aadhaar enrolment. It includes ration card, pension card and military canteen card and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act card.

These documents contain names of the family members and their relationship with each other. All the members of such families can enrol themselves by submitting any of these documents. Similarly, domestic LPG supply bill will be accepted as proof of address. These are among 17 documents of proof of identity and 29 documents of proof of address that people can submit for Aadhaar enrolment, he added.